Les Bowen

STAFF WRITER

Les Bowen has covered the Eagles since 2002. Before that, he covered the Flyers for 13 years. He came to the Daily News from the Charlotte Observer in May 1983, just as the Sixers were winning the NBA championship. He thought, "Gosh, this sort of thing must happen all the time here."

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was “absolutely fine last night,” after suffering a concussion in Sunday night's loss at Atlanta, head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder said. He will go through the NFL’s concussion protocols to determine when he will be able to practice or play.

Vick is resting today and Burkholder said he had not seen him yet, as of Andy Reid's noon news conference. Burkholder said he would check with Vick as to whether he would have an MRI exam today, potentially see a neurologist and have Impact testing, all of which has to occur before he practices.

“Rest is one of the vital things we can give him,” Burkholder said. “We try not to tax his brain or anything. We will go through protocol … We have it outlined. We have done this before. This is not our first go-round.”

As to when he might be ready, Bukrholder said, “We’re not guessing … I’m not going to be back here tomorrow and tell you that’s he’s cleared.”

“I can’t give you a timeframe on this,” he said. “That’s foolish on our part, medically, to put that out there. Everyone wants to know (a) timeframe. Everyone wants to know whether Mike is going to play. We’re going to go through our protocol and when Mike’s ready to practice, I will turn him over to coach and he will make the decision when he’s ready to play. I keep emphasizing, we’re 13 hours post-injury. There’s a lot that has to go on between now and then to make that decision. For me to sit up here and guess on that, it’s not fair to Michael, it’s not fair to coach, it’s not fair to us, the NFL, anybody.”

Burkholder said concussion testing in the locker room showed Vick was very close to the line of whether someone has or does not have a concussion.

The Eagles host the Giants Sunday. Reid seemed to hint that given the complexity of the New York defense, it would be a good thing if the QB practicing Wednesday was the same one starting Sunday -- a possible indication we will see Mike Kafka instead of Vick.

Reid said he spoke with Vick at length after the game. “He remembered everything,” Reid said. “He recalled everything. I tried to quiz him and see where he was at. He was frustrated that he wasn’t able to finish. He had a vested interest in finishing.”

“The test is what it is. If he’s injured, he’s injured. I know that he wants to play.”

League concussion protocols say: "The player should not be considered for return to football activities until he is fully asymptomatic, both at rest and after exertion, has a normal neurological examination, normal neuropsychological testing, and has been cleared to play by both his team physician and the independent neurological consultant."

If Vick is unable to play, Reid said he has not decided who the starting quarterback will be, either Vince Young or Kafka. However, Reid said Young, sidelined the last three weeks with a hamstring problem, is not quite 100 percent yet. Given Young's lack of recent reps in the offense, it would be a surprise if he were to start ahead of Kafka Sunday, but Reid might find it useful to create an air of mystery. And as Burkholder noted, it is premature to assume Vick won't play.

“We’ll see how all that goes,” Reid said, when asked his preference between Kafka and Young. “I haven’t gotten to that point. It was a long night.”

Reid said he has confidence in both quarterbacks and will be talking with both of them. “The one thing we know is it’s a complicated defense and they run a lot of things at you. … On the other hand, Michael has played a lot of games against them and they have given us about every look possible in the last couple of Giants games. That is something I will have to weigh when we get there.”

Asked whether he will consider bringing in another quarterback, Reid said, “I’ll take care of that in the next couple of days and evaluate that. I’m not there yet.”

Reid said he faulted himself for being “way too conservative” after Vick left the game and Kafka came in.

“I sent a message to our team and not a positive one,” Reid said. “That is something I don’t do, in particular given how much trust I have him … I’m kicking myself in the trail for that right now.”

Asked about Kafka, Reid said, “I would have never traded Kevin Kolb if I didn’t have trust in Mike Kafka. I didn’t show that last night. I would never have done the Vince Young deal if I didn’t have trust in Mike Kafka. I didn’t prove it to you last night until the last series.”

Reid said the biggest lesson was to be aggressive with a lead.

“When you have a lead, you have to get after it and stay aggressive,” Reid said. “Again I didn’t set the tempo from that. We’re going to learn how to finish here, starting with me and the coaches and the rest of the guys.”

In other injury news:

· Brent Celek has a low back strain and is "tender today," Reid said.

· Trent Cole has a strained tendon in his hand. “He should be fine,” Reid said.

· Juqua Parker has a high ankle sprain. “I can’t tell you how severe it is right now,” Reid said. “He’s got to get through today here and we’ll have a better idea.”

· Darryl Tapp has a pectoral strain and is healing, Reid said.

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